At noon the next day, the office.

It was already lunchtime, but Tetsufumi Hirakawa didn't go to the cafeteria as usual.

He hadn't forgotten that someone had brought him a bento today.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked to his side, and Mr. Kuda, who was beside him, was also looking at him at this time.

"Mr. Hirakawa, are you ready?"

"Of course." Tetsufumi Hirakawa sat up straight and put on a momentum inexplicably, "Mr. Kuda, in terms of cooking, I will definitely not lose." ”

"Huh? Is there still a cooking competition? Kuda Maki said as she took out a disposable bento box.

The transparent plastic casing allows you to see the bright colors inside.

The dishes are quite hearty.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa retracted his gaze and took out the bento from the insulated box.

"Of course, the last time I went to Mr. Kuda's house, Mr. Hinata actually only gave me an 8 for my cooking skills, but I have always remembered it."

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"Eh——?"

This voice was not made by Maki Kuda.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa put the lunch box on the table, followed the sound and looked over, and it was actually Mr. Kitayama on the side who made the sound.

"Has Hirakawa ever been to Kuda's house?"

"—Kitayama-sensei, that was when Kuda-sensei was sick before." Tetsufumi Hirakawa knew what she was thinking as soon as he saw her expression, and quickly explained, "I'm going to visit a patient. ”

"That's right."

Kitayama nodded with a sigh of relief and muttered quietly, "I thought you were all at that point." ”

“……”

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa and Maki Kuda stopped talking.

After a while, Hinata Moshu blushed slightly, and handed the lunch box to Tetsufumi Hirakawa: "Mr. Hirakawa, give it." ”

“…… Thank you, Mr. Kuda. ”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa took it with both hands.

Mr. Kitayama is too gossipy, and when he sits next to him, he always looks at him and Kuda with an inexplicable smile.

Also eavesdropping.

Of course, maybe eavesdropping is not quite right, after all, the conversation between him and Kuda did not say that he deliberately avoided anyone.

But it's really too gossipy, right?

But...... Kitayama-sensei's words suddenly reminded Tetsufumi Hirakawa.

Speaking of which, what is the relationship between him and Kuda Moshu, and to what extent?

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked at Hinata Moshu.

A young and beautiful female colleague wearing Moriya's uniform, a white shirt under a gentle beige jacket, neatly buttoned, and a beautiful curve on the chest.

Long black hair, the hair on the forehead is scattered into two strands hanging on the sides of the side of the face.

In the middle, there is the cute face of Mr. Hinata who will never get tired of looking at it, with soft curves, and a goose egg face that conforms to the traditional aesthetics of the East.

There is makeup on the face, but it's just light makeup. Tetsufumi Hirakawa has seen Kuda at home, and that natural beauty is not something that can be made up with makeup.

Her eyes, in particular, have an intellectual and gentle brilliance in their brown eyes, which are reminiscent of the lake, and - "If you want to compare the West Lake to Xizi, it is always appropriate to wear light makeup and heavy makeup" - is particularly reminiscent of this poem.

Young, pretty, gentle...... This is the overall impression that Mr. Kuda gives him.

To have such a female colleague is of course very good, and it should be said that I am lucky. The gentle teacher always took good care of him—perhaps accommodating, for example, even though he had won the bet, he did the cooking for him after he had said it.

Well......

So what is the relationship between him and Mr. Kuda?

Thinking about it in a daze, when he took the bento with both hands, he accidentally touched Kuda's fingers and wiped them lightly.

In the soft touch of nothingness, Tetsufumi Hirakawa stared at Kuda and pondered the question seriously.

He and her, close colleagues?

Or what?

Or, in the eyes of Mr. Kitayama, a teacher who is always gossiping in secret...... What is the relationship between him and Mr. Kuda?

Really......

A question worth pondering.

“……”

“……”

"Hirakawa-sensei."

The voice came into his ears, his eyes refocused, and Kuda Moshu leaned forward and waved his hand lightly in front of his eyes.

"What are you thinking?"

"Ah...... It's nothing. ”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa came back to his senses and smiled lightly.

"I'm just looking forward to Kuda-sensei's cooking, and I thought it would be great to be able to taste it."

“…… Huh. ”

"So—" Tetsufumi Hirakawa put the bento on the table, looking like he was about to start, "Ready to start!" ”

"—stop."

"Huh? What's wrong? ”

Kuda Moshu looked at him with trouble: "Hirakawa-sensei forgot something, right?" ”

"What?"

"Does Mr. Hirakawa plan to swallow two bento servings by himself?"

“…… I'm sorry. ”

I completely forgot about it after being interrupted by Mr. Kitayama, and I blamed her.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa smiled apologetically and handed the bento he had made on the table to Maki Kuda.

"Please taste it with Mr. Kuda."

"Well, that's right."

Kuda Moshu took the lunch.

"Is the bento still hot?"

"Of course, I made it this morning when I got up, and put it in the insulated box to keep it warm."

Unlike many raw and cold dishes in Japanese cuisine, Chinese dishes are eaten hot, and when it is cold, the flavor changes completely.

"It's an honor to be able to get the lazy Mr. Hirakawa to wake up early."

“…… Is this a sarcasm or a compliment? ”

"It's a compliment."

"Okay." Tetsufumi Hirakawa replied reluctantly.

But the little things don't matter anymore.

He opened Kuda's bento, and the vague and brightly colored food that had been separated by a layer of plastic suddenly came into view.

Not to mention whether it is delicious or not, the presentation alone is pleasing to the eye.

Colorful collocation, neatly sorted and placed.

White and black are rice balls sprinkled with seaweed, brown is hamburger meat with sauce, tempura with light red shrimp tails exposed, yellow egg rolls, green broccoli, and bright red tomatoes.

It has to be said that the exquisite presentation looks appetizing.

"It's beautiful." Tetsufumi Hirakawa praised.

Judging from the perspective of color, aroma and taste, although cold dishes basically have no fragrance at all, they can score very high in the "color" link.

"Of course." Kuda is also very happy with her own plating.

In order to make this box of bento boxes enjoyable as soon as they are opened, it takes about the same amount of time to prepare them as it does to prepare them.

Kuda Moshu responded to Tetsufumi Hirakawa's compliment, and at the same time, opened the bento in front of her.

The faint heat and rising fragrance immediately hit the nose.

She sniffed lightly.

It can be seen that Tetsufumi Hirakawa is not lying, this is definitely just done this morning and quickly put into the insulated box to keep warm.

There is no cross-flavouring of the separated dishes, and each dish has its own aroma.

"It's very fragrant."

The courtesies are still exchanged, and Kuda Moshu also praised.

"That looks like a tie for now."

"Tie for now?"

"I don't want to admit it, but Kuda-sensei's presentation is really better than me, but in terms of smell, I also win. So if you score from the three aspects of color, fragrance, and taste, in terms of color and fragrance, I will be tied with Mr. Kuda. ”

"Is that so?" Kuda Moshu understood, "Then the next thing is the most important taste, how should this be scored?" ”

"-Let me come!"

Before Tetsufumi Hirakawa could speak, Mr. Kitayama, who was watching the excitement, couldn't wait to raise his hand.

"Such an interesting thing is definitely going to be for me. And rest assured, I'm absolutely impartial. ”

"......" Tetsufumi Hirakawa stared at the interested Teacher Kitayama, and nodded helplessly after being stunned for a moment, "It is indeed the fairest way to let a third person score." But—"

"But what?"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa didn't answer first, but took out the disposable chopsticks that had been prepared long ago and picked up a small piece of hamburger meat.

The tender meat flavor and refreshing sauce bloom in your mouth at once.

After swallowing it, he replied slowly.

"The bento made by Mr. Kuda himself, the first bite must belong to me."

“……”

“……”

Speechless for a moment, Kitayama exhaled and looked to the other side.

Hinata Moshu is holding chopsticks in his hand, holding a piece of cola chicken wing, the shimmering brown luster of the chicken wing is obviously missing a bite, and the cheeks are still chewing lightly.

And in the face of her gaze, the female teacher silently avoided her eyes.

“……”

In the end, the cooking competition ended in a draw.

The reason is that Tetsufumi Hirakawa and Maki Kuda think that the bento they made is better anyway.

As for Mr. Kitayama......

She originally said that she was going to be a referee for the first time, but suddenly she repented and didn't want to taste anything she said.

That's it.